AdKnowledge in Palo Alto, CA disclosed new statistics for the month of June that show over the past six months Netscape Navigator’s market share has declined 8.9% to 52.2%, while that of Microsoft Internet Explorer has risen 9.6% to 45.6%.
Additionally, the statistics for June reveal that the split between Explorer users (51%) and Navigator users (49%) is almost equal on Windows 95, the most popular operating system for Web surfers. The company also reported 94% of online viewers are using version 3 or 4 of either Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer.
AdKnowledge widely releases excerpts from its Online Advertising Report (OAR) on a monthly basis. The report is a compilation of Web advertising statistics gathered from MarketMatch, AdKnowledge’s independent Web media planning and research tool that tracks more than 1,100 Web sites, and SmartBanner, a campaign placement and performance analysis service for ad agencies and advertisers.
“That most people are using newer browsers is good news for advertisers, since it means online ads can feature the rich media capabilities that are so compelling to viewers,” said David Zinman, director of product management for AdKnowledge. “Also of interest is that, for the first time, Explorer has eclipsed Navigator on one computer platform, Windows 95. However, ad designers need to develop ads with both browsers in mind as Microsoft is closing the gap on Netscape with respect to browser market share.”
This browser data was derived from a sample of nearly 10 million ads served by SmartBanner across more than 1,000 sites.